The Prince of Heaven's Gate - Last Stand At World's End

As they traveled towards their destination, Lux pondered which among the four options that he obtained from his Bonus Reward was the most ideal choice. He must choose the one that would give him the most benefits.

—–

Hell Horse

Golden Token of Gweliven

Monster Egg

Teleport Scroll 4 pcs

—–

In truth, if he wanted an immediate upgrade, the Hell Horse was the most ideal option. Not only would it allow Diablo’s Skeleton Rider Class to show its full potential, the mount would also grow along with its rider.

For example, if someday, Diablo became a High-Ranker, the Hell Horse would also become a High-Ranker, Lux would automatically have two powerful creatures under his command.

The Golden Token of Gweliven might have useful functions, but it was only effective within the Dwarven Kingdom. _-.

The egg was either a hit or miss. Lux might gain a decent monster or an extremely good monster after hatching. Unfortunately, the Half-Elf didn’t trust his luck too much, and he wasn’t confident enough to choose the egg and hatch it.

As for the Teleport Scroll, Lux believed that it would be extremely useful in the future after he left the Beginner’s Village. It could be used as a life saving item if he had to escape from a dangerous situation. The teleport scroll had different functions depending on the situation, which made it a very valuable item to possess.

‘Fortunately, choosing a reward doesn’t have a time limit,’ Lux thought. ‘For the time being, I’ll keep it on hold and decide when something unexpected happens. I don’t need to hurry.’

Lux knew that his current strength was enough to deal with anything in the Leaf Village, as long as he didn’t do anything stupid like challenge the Field Boss, which was the Forest Wolf King.

The Half-Elf glanced at the Dwarves, who were seated with him, in the horse wagon, which they had rented back at the village. In the front, Matty was tasked to be the coachman, while the rest were assigned to scan the surroundings.

The children were being extra alert because of what happened with the Kobolds during their escort mission. All of them were holding their weapons at the ready, prepared to react instantly at the first sign of danger.

Even Helen, the group’s cleric, had a serious expression on her face as she observed her surroundings with a critical eye. When Lux saw that, it made him smile. Most of the time, he would almost forget that they were just children because of how strong-willed they were.

“Two Berserked Horned Rabbits at eight o’clock!!” Colette shouted.

Everyone immediately looked in the direction where the little blonde Dwarf was pointing. Two red Rabbits that were a meter tall were running in their direction. They were Rank 2 Monsters that were known for their speed and their aggressive attitude towards those that had entered their territory.

“Battle Formation!” Colette shouted as she jumped off the horse wagon, holding the mace in her hands. Matty stood beside her, while Andy, Axel, and Helen were in the rear.

Colette’s profession was a Paladin. She was a hybrid offensive warrior that excelled in close combat, could use magic, and tank enemies if needed be.

As the leader of the group, she was always on the front line alongside Matty, who was a pure offensive fighter.

Lux also stood beside the two children as he raised his hand and summoned Diablo and Ishtar. It had been a while since he had fought side-by-side with his friends, so he was wondering how much they had improved during the time they weren’t together.

“I’ll handle one of the Berserked Horned Rabbit,” Lux said. “The rest of you deal with the other one.”

“Okay, Big Brother!” Colette agreed as she braced herself to collide with the horned rabbit whose horn was poised to strike her.

The sound of metal hitting a hard object reverberated in the surroundings as Colette and the Horned Rabbit clashed. The little girl’s feet skidded across the ground by a meter, but her stance didn’t break as she stopped the Berserked Horned Rabbit’s charge.

Matty took this opportunity to deliver two powerful slashes to the Horned Rabbit’s right leg making it cry out in pain.

“Fire Bullet!”

“Water Bullet!”

Andy and Axel fired their respective spells which landed on the Berserked Horned Rabbit’s body, pushing it back.

Diablo on the other hand, smashed his shield against the Berserked Horned Rabbit’s head, stunning it before delivering a Heavy Slash on the side of its body.

Ishtar, on the other hand, used Siege Stance, and fired a piercing arrow into the Berserked Horned Rabbit’s leg, crippling it.

Diablo used this opportunity to strike the Monster’s other foot, preventing it from running away. The Horned Rabbit’s main weapons were its powerful legs as well as the horn on its head, both which were often used to attack its enemies with a charging attack. As long as its legs were immobilized, it would effectively lose more than seventy percent of its combat abilities.

Diablo was no longer ignorant of the ways of battle after he had fought in the Undead Outbreak, then against the Kobolds, the Mosquitoes, and the Dwarf Mage, which they had recently defeated. As a Named Creature, its intelligence was quite high. With each battle it fought, its Tactical Ability grew more and more.

Diablo and Ishtar worked together in order to kill the incapacitated monster, which they did with relative ease. Lux didn’t do anything and simply stood still, while he observed the battle of his friends.

Matty had also attacked the legs of the Berserked Horned Rabbit after the initial clash, with practiced movements.

Colette, on the other hand, used her mace to give the horned rabbit an uppercut, which made Lux subconsciously massage his jaw due to the imaginary second-hand pain that he had felt.

“Fire Lance!”

“Water Lance!”

Andy’s and Axel’s attacks pierced the Monster’s chest, making it screech in pain and frustration. With just a glance, Lux could see that the kids were also just a few points away from reaching the Apostle Rank. Their current performance reflected this.

‘So, this is why you want to fight Carbuncle,’ Lux thought. ‘You guys are about to graduate, and are planning to fight against the Alpha Monsters of the Beginner’s Village as proof of your strength and courage.’

Lux felt a little sad at the knowledge that his friends would be leaving Leaf Village soon. The Half-Elf guessed that due to the Kobold Incident, the parents of his friends decided to give them Beast Cores, in order to help them break through to the Apostle Rank.

‘Ah, if I remember correctly, Colette’s Big Sister is also an Apostle,’ Lux mused. ‘Maybe Colette’s parents want her to babysit her little sister and keep her safe.’

Although he felt a little sad knowing that the children were preparing for their graduation in the Beginner’s Village, he was also very happy for them.

A few minutes later, the two Berserked Rabbits were dead, and the Goldenslayers Party rejoiced for their easy win.

“Big Brother, how did Mr. Diablo become so strong?” Colette asked as she patted one of Diablo’s legs, which was covered with black armor.

Diablo must have been amused by the little girl who was patting him all over, so he patted her head and even playfully ruffled Colette’s hair, which made her giggle.

“This is the first time I’ve seen this skeleton,” Matty said as he pointed at Ishtar who was looking at Colette’s and Diablo’s interaction with a curious gaze. “Is he your new Summon, Lux?”

“Yes,” Lux replied. “Her name is Ishtar, and she is a Skeleton Hunter.”

“Skeleton hunter? First time I’ve heard of it.” Matty crossed his arms over his chest as he pondered. “I only know about Skeleton Archers. This Skeleton Hunter doesn’t ring a bell.”

Andy and Axel used their own Enchanted Beast Rings to store the corpse of the two Monsters, which they would bring back to Leaf Village to sell after they finished their goal in coming to the Aspiration Plains.

“You can think of her as a more powerful version of a Skeleton Archer,” Lux explained. He was about to say more when he suddenly heard a screech coming from behind them.

A two-meter tall, purple Monster with a red jewel on its forehead charged in their direction. Lux’s expression turned grim when he saw that the Monster wasn’t alone. Running alongside it were four Berserked Horned Rabbit, whose red eyes glowed with fury.

“Everyone brace yourselves!” Colette shouted as she stood in front of her party members. “That is a Mutated Carbuncle! It’s stronger than the normal Carbuncle, and its strength is equivalent to a peak Rank 3 Alpha Monster!”

Lux frowned because this was the first time he heard the term “Mutated” and it made him wonder if there was something special about this Monster that was now headed in their direction.